2017 RDWS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The WFTDA is proud to announce the recipients of the first-ever WFTDA-Membership Scholarship. The purpose of the scholarship is to ensure that the event is inclusive and welcoming to WFTDA-member leagues with financial barriers who wish to send a representative to participate in the general track. The total scholarship amount is $4000 USD, which will be divided amongst the recipients to help cover their travel costs.
We received applications from all over the world, and are excited to have these five leagues joining us this year at the Roller Derby World Summit in Manchester, U.K. April 21-23, 2017:
The Trailblazers: C-Max Roller Derby
Johannesburg, South Africa
From their application:
As the trailblazer of Roller Derby in South Africa,… the knowledge and experience [from the RDWS] will be shared, not only with our members but with all our sister leagues throughout South Africa, as has been our practice up to now and as per our Mission Statement:
“C-MAX Roller Derby League aims to foster positive relations with Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby leagues within South Africa and internationally, and will utilise these relationships to improve and enhance the skills of the C-MAX Roller Derby League Members and to support the growth of Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby both locally and internationally.”
The Italian Roller Derby Movement: Harpies Roller Derby
Milano, Italy
From their application:
…we try to help out and support the growth and development of every single skater as much as we can. …conferences, bootcamps, clinics, and so on, are chances to improve and gain knowledge at [an individual] and [league] layer. We strongly believe that these experiences help, not only us but the [entire] Italian [roller derby] movement.
…Harpies RD Milano has consistently been a league [that others] could ask for help [with] training, advice, coaching and organization and we feel that this experience would be a [boost] for our us and our “sisters”. In fact, the other Italian teams [are] slowly but steadily starting to look at WFTDA membership as a goal.
The Long-Term Growth: Northern Brisbane Rollers
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
From their application:
It is our Vision at NBR to create excellence in the sport of Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby. We achieve this through growing a strong, competitive and well‐managed league that creates a safe and inclusive place where women can enhance their health and wellbeing, develop new skills, breakdown preconceptions about women in sport and to have fun! Our league has recently gone through a period of great change and the opportunity has arisen to shift our focus from short-term survival to laying the foundations for long-term growth and sustainability.
By attending the Roller Derby World Summit we would be gaining access to business and leadership resources that we are ripe to take advantage of. We would also be able to access a planet’s worth of knowledge through networking opportunities with other attending leagues, many of which would have similar experiences in their history to our own, that we could learn and gain hope from. In short, we believe that attending the RDWS will help make our league great again. Not to mention the prestige and excitement involved in having our league attend the very first RDWS!
The Defenders: Roller Derby Madrid
Madrid, Spain
From their application:
While we know that Roller Derby Madrid would benefit immensely from the knowledge obtained at the RDWS, our league can also bring something to the table. As one of only two full WFTDA member leagues in Spain, we are in a unique position to talk about the experience of being a new WFTDA league in a country where roller derby is just now beginning to expand and the specific challenges this presents. All over the continent, national skating federations are trying to usurp the sport of roller derby and skaters are pushing back. However, the relationship between national skating federations and roller derby communities varies greatly from country to country and in Spain’s case, even from region to region. Roller Derby Madrid walks a fine line between obtaining what we need from the Federation (namely, insurance) while defending the WFTDA’s position as the only international governing body of roller derby.
The Developers: Sailor City Rollers
Buenos Aires, Argentina
From their application:
The participation of representatives from Latin American member leagues is a necessity because we [can] explain first hand the conditions [in] the region to the rest of WFTDA’s members.
…Our league can bring our perspective about the development of the sport and leagues in context with economic, structural, and cultural difficulties. In such context, the sport has grown really fast in our country. The study of this case can allow us to understand which circumstances are the real constraints for growing WFTDA’s membership.
…Finally, we consider that this is the best opportunity for the representatives from Latin America to participate in the RDWS and transmit the complex situation of our region. …This is the best time [to attend as] one week before the RDWS, all the Latin American league members will be present in Buenos Aires. This kind of opportunity hasn’t occurred before, which will allow us to improve our current communications and work efforts among the leagues.
Please join us in congratulating these member leagues! See you at the Roller Derby World Summit!